Times Colonist, January 4, 2009
A cement barge run aground in Oak Bay has been towed to Esquimalt Harbour.Photograph by: Debra BrashA 60-foot cement barge run aground near Oak Bay since New Year’s day has been freed and towed to Esquimalt Harbour, according to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre and towing company, Seaspan International.
The barge, owned by construction material supplier Lafarge, listed against the rocks in Enterprise Channel, between Oak Bay and Trial Island for nearly four days, creating quite a spectacle for passersby.
Attempts to float the barge over the past few days, including the use of multiple tugs, tides and cranes, were unsuccessful.
Divers estimated there to be damage to the hull. According to a Transportation Safety Board report, the barge has a welded steel hull. It was built in 1981 and is used for hauling aggregate. It was involved in a collision with a wood-hulled fishing vessel in 2005 in Swanson Channel.
No one was aboard the barge when it went aground around 4 a.m. Jan. 1. Two tugboat operators towing the vessel were not harmed and no pollutants were spilled in the water. Lafarge has not commented as to what cause the barge to run aground or what was able to finally free it.
Snowin like mad here yet again...
